Why do we listen to classical music industry experts?


Two weeks ago BBC Radio 3 controller and Proms director Roger Wright was in New York at the prestigious Lincoln Center, telling classical music what it was doing wrong in his Royal Philharmonic Society Lecture. This despite his having presided over, inter alia, possibly the most lacklustre period in the distinguished history of the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and despite having crowned an orgy of dumbing down at Radio 3 by turning the most extravagant Proms' season ever into a 5.8% plunge in radio audience. (When the BBC makes its royal charter renewal submission in 2017 you can bet it will be the Barenboim Ring that is puffed and not the calamitous performance of Radio 3). Elsewhere ex-Gramophone editor and sometime Radio 3 contributor James Jolly is sharing his wisdom on the conference circuit, despite the Gramophone's circulation having plunged from 60,000 to 25,000 while he was editor and then editor-in-chief. Why do we listen to classical music industry experts?

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Comments

Pliable said…
Richard Bratby comments via Facebook:

I've personally had the pleasure of dealing with numerous 'classical music industry experts' including one who didn't recognise Brahms' violin concerto, one who wanted to arrange a balloon drop at the end of Beethoven 9, one who didn't realise that orchestras require music stands, and one who didn't know how to pronounce 'Mozart'. Yay! Go experts!
4:31 pm
Pliable said…
Thanks for saying that publicly Richard. It is interesting that none of the self-styled 'cultural commentators' in the UK have commented on the continuing dismal performance of BBC Radio 3 - dismal to listen to and dismal as measured by independent audience data.

It is also worth noting that the Royal Philharmonic Society has a very cosy relationship with BBC Radio 3 - http://www.overgrownpath.com/2013/04/what-do-music-industry-awards-achieve.html
5:49 pm
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